This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus and a method of replacing individual knives upon a knife bar.
These knife bars are well known and are used in combines, swathers and other haying equipment. The individual knives are riveted to a knife bar which is reciprocated between guards in order to cut the grain or hay.
As may be appreciated, individual knives wear in a period of time, become damaged or broken and have to be replaced.
Conventionally, this has been done manually and individually by chiseling off the rivet heads holding the knife to the bar, then punching out the remaining portions of the rivets by attaching a manually operated rivet removal tool, attaching the new knife in position by means of new rivets and then heading over these rivets in order to secure the knife to the bar.
As will be appreciated, this is an extremely time consuming and labour intensive operation and holds up field operations if such sections have to be replaced during use rather then during general maintenance at a time when the machine is not being used.